


Raspberry flavored

by Xies (Kisekis)



Category: NCT (Band), NCT 127 - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Fluff, Ice Cream Parlors, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-28
Updated: 2019-10-28
Packaged: 2021-01-02 05:22:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,774
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21156305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kisekis/pseuds/Xies
Summary: Donghyuck really likes ice cream, but he likes Mark even more.(#S051 markhyuck au where Donghyuck is lactose intolerant, but you'd find him gone to the ice cream parlor near the school everyday cause he thinks the employee's cute).





	Raspberry flavored

**Author's Note:**

> [x](https://open.spotify.com/track/72NewffMWAO9kH55vT6dXj?si=h4WNaIXYQy6jVwnaUSG-zg)  
thank you to my beta, val, who is the sweetest!  
to the prompter, hope you like it! :)

Donghyuck really, really loves ice cream. And in the world of frozen, delicious and sweet things, he has a soft spot in his heart for frozen yogurt ice cream. But the thing was that, apparently, life hated him. Because no matter how much he loves ice cream, he can’t eat it.

He is lactose intolerant.

Literally anything with dairy would make his guts weird, kind of funny at first, but then, the pain would start, along with the awful cramps, and he’d have to take more than one visit to the bathroom. Sometimes the funny feeling wouldn’t go away for days. He could always eat those water-based ice creams, but it just wasn’t the same -the flavor wasn’t as creamy, the consistency wasn’t as perfect.

So when his friends asked him at the end of school if he wanted to go for ice cream at the new shop near school, he had only one way to answer:

“What the fuck, why do you hate me?”

“Wha- why?” Jungwoo asks, by his side, slowing down. He looks at Donghyuck, mouth open and eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Doyoung snorts and pushes Jungwoo lightly.

“He is lactose intolerant,” Yuta explains, and Doyoung nods at his side. Jungwoo still looks confused.

“You know you can always have dairy-free ice-”

“Don’t you dare to finish that sentence,” Donghyuck interrupts, frowning even more. They are almost at the exit of the school. His backpack is heavy with textbooks and homework he doesn’t really want to do.

Donghyuck sees by the corner of his eye how Jungwoo turns to Taeyong for help. Being new to the group of friends, Donghyuck thinks he could cut him some slack, but the heat is making him have a headache, and he is kind of in a bad mood. Also, Doyoung and Yuta are laughing at his misery.

“I hate ice creams that don't have milk, ugh, they are the absolute worst,” he explains, sighing. He turns around and smiles softly at Jungwoo, and then sticks his tongue at Yuta and Doyoung. “But I will go with you. Because, unlike you, I’m a good friend.”

This time, Doyoung snorts. "Jaemin is a lactose intolerant too, y'know. But you always pretend to forget about it."

“What? No! Jaemin is not even a lactose intolerant, he just hates milk, there is a big difference,” he points out.

“Still,” Doyoung says, laughing.

Jungwoo hums, biting his lips. “I will buy you vegan ice cream if they have the option in the menu,” he offers, smiling. Donghyuck almost trips. Jungwoo is too nice for his own good.

“Tell me again how you made friends with Doyoung, please,” he asks, gritting his teeth.

Doyoung laughs, side hugging Jungwoo. “Why, are you jealous?”

Donghyuk only rolls his eyes.

It turns out, the parlor didn’t have a vegan option. Donghyuck wants to curse his luck, his life, and especially, his weak ass stomach. He only wanted ice cream, for god’s sake. He sits in one of the booths while his friends make their orders, putting his backpack at his side, pouting bitterly. He takes his phone out of his pocket, and starts playing tetris, bored.

Jungwoo takes Donghyuck’s backpack out of the seat, plopping down next to him, and the rest of his friends squeeze into the booth. Donghyuck stretches his hands and feet before straightening himself and putting his cellphone back in his pocket. “Well, at least the place is cute,” he says, yawning, and they all agree. The shop was retro themed, with red booths, neon signs, bright colors everywhere, and it made Donghyuck happy.

“Thank you, we really put effort into the decor,” a voice says, and Donghyuck is startled at the intruder. He looks up, where a guy is smiling at him. He has black hair, almost reaching his cute, cute, eyes.

“Uh-oh,” is all he manages to say, and he hears Yuta choke on his ice cream. He kicks Yuta under the table, and puts on the best charming smile he can manage right now before turning to the face the guy again. He wants to say something more, anything clever, but the employee is talking again before he can think of something.

“I heard you were asking for a vegan option,” he says, seeming unfazed by his sudden lack of words. “Sorry, but since we just recently opened, we don’t have those types of alternatives yet.”

“Oh no, it wasn’t for me!,” he rushes, because for once in his life he didn’t want to appear extra. “It was- actually- it was for him,” he finishes, lamely, pointing at Doyoung, who is currently eating watermelon ice cream, being the only one who didn’t ask for frozen yogurt. By the corner of his eye, he can see Doyoung covering his mouth with his hand, and he immediately knows he is trying hard not to laugh at him. He kicks him under the table too.

“Oh, I see,” the employee puts a hand on the table and smiles at him again, and it’s so cute that Donghyuck feels his ears heating up. “Well, we don’t plan on adding vegan ice cream just yet, but the idea is in discussion.”

Donghyuck smiles. “Oh. Okay, thank you.”

“No problem,” the guy says, straightening himself. “I’m Mark, by the way, and if you need anything, I’ll be happy to serve you.”

“Okay, thank you, Mark," Donghyuck replies, and he watches as the guy smile one last time before turning around and walking to the counter. He looks at him with wide eyes, gaze lingering on the curve of his thighs. God, the guy was so cute and handsome, but he also had a nice body. Freaking unbelievable.

“Earth to Donghyuck,” he hears Doyoung say.

“What was _that _about?,” Yuta questions, teasing him too.

Donghyuck blushes. “Oh, fuck you. He is cute.”

“He is!” Jungwoo agrees, smiling at him, and Donghyuck sighs and hugs him. At least someone was on his side.

His friends are probably gonna tease him to death for this, though. He throws himself on the table, groaning at the thought.

The thing is, he doesn’t really plan on coming back to the ice cream parlor like, ever, specially after going into human disaster mode in front of the cute employee. But the boy was so nice to him, and he also was cute as hell. He just needs to see him one more time.

Before he can think more about it, two days later, he finds himself in front of the shop again.

He fixes his hair, using the glass of the window next to him, before deciding to go in. The tiny bell attached to the top of the door rings, and Donghyuck goes straight to the counter, where Mark is already serving some customers. He fidgets a little on the line, and takes out his phone just to entertain himself while waiting, feeling somewhat anxious. When it’s his turn, the people before him are already leaving with several cones of delicious yogurt ice cream. How he envies them. The world was so unfair, sometimes.

“Hi, you came back!” Mark says when Donghyuck comes to the front, a smile on his lips, and, at least, he did remember him. Donghyuck smiles faintly.

“Uh, yeah,” he says, “I didn’t have the chance to, uh, try the ice cream last time.”

Mark laughs. “Oh yeah, good thing that you decided to give it a go, then. What can I offer you, then?” he asks, and damn it, Donghyuck didn’t think this through. What was he gonna order? Seriously, he couldn’t eat frozen yogurt, and he didn’t really want to eat those awfully watery dairy free ice creams. He looks up to the whiteboard on the back, scanning the list of the prices quickly.

He decides to go for for the least expensive thing: fruit ice creams.

Mark smiles at him. “To go?,” he asks.

“Oh, yes! yeah,” he replies, awkward. If he stayed there to eat, what would he do with the ice cream? At least one part of his brain seemed to still manage to work around the cute guy.

“What flavor?” Mark asks, turning around to the freezer, to take some ice cubes of a pill, putting them into a cup.

“Uh, raspberry,” he blurts out.

“Good choice,” Mark says, immediately taking out some raspberries too, and carrying them with the ice cubes to the machine at the back. He watches Mark turn it on, putting the ingredients on the top, and cute pinkish ice cream is thrown into a little transparent cup. If only the damn thing tasted as good as it looked.

“Okay, here it is,” Mark offers, handing him ice cream with his bright smile.

“Thanks,” Donghyuck says, actually managing to fully smile this time, when their hands touch for a second. “But uh-”

“Yeah?”

“Well, you didn’t charge me,” he points out, wallet still in his pocket.

Mark blushes. “Oh, right! Yeah, sorry! I’m new here so- I mean, well- the whole shop is new, but you get my point,” he sputters, finishing with an awkward laugh. If Donghyuck thought Mark was cute before, flustered like this, he is downright adorable.

“Here,” Donghyuck offers, laughing, hanging him the exact change, and Mark laughs too before taking it and giving him the receipt in exchange, their fingers brushing once again, long enough for Donghyuck to feel his ears turning hot.

“Thanks for coming by!,” Mark exclaims.

“Yeah, see you around,” he replies. Mark smiles at him, waving him off.

He exits the shop, feeling renewed and a bit flustered at the same time, ice cream still in hand. He looks at it with distrust, but tries it anyways, taking a bit with the spoon. It’s cold and refreshing, and the raspberry isn’t so bad, but he hates feeling the water fading away the flavor of the fruit on his mouth. It leaves a dull aftertaste that he can’t stand.

He looks around, and spots an alleyway just on the corner of the shop. He discovers it leads to the back of the stores, and it looks old and abandoned, only piles of trash and a lonely car parked there. For the purpose, it’s perfect. He opens the lip of a dumpster that’s there, and throws the ice cream without any second thoughts. He feels kind of guilty at first, a few dollars wasted away, but Mark’s smile comes back to his mind, and well, maybe it was kind of worth it.

All things considered, his second visit to the shop wasn’t as bad as the first one. It leaves him excited, since he already knew that Mark was nice and handsome, but honestly, he is kind of dorky too, and that only fueled his growing, embarrassing crush.

And so, he quickly de decides he needs a partner in crime. Jungwoo it’s the only one amongst the assholes he has for friends that hasn’t made fun of him for his crush yet, and that’s the reason Donghyuck ends up dragging him to the ice cream parlor after school every other day.

Jungwoo waits for him outside the shop, and Donghyuck enters to buy some ice cream so he can spend precious minutes observing Mark and, on his best days, have a conversation with him. On those days he learns that he is in high school, just like him, but he is a sophomore instead of a freshman like Donghyuck is. He helps in the shop because it belongs to his aunt, and he works with his cousin Johnny, who, Donghyuck must say, is also pretty nice- but way too tall.

Mark asks about him too. He asks for his name, what highschool does he go to, and what are his friends like. What he likes to do. Donghyuck is happy to grant him the answers. Their chatter is comfortable, extending into longer conversations when there is no one else in the shop.

So, all in all, he is happy.

Even when his crush doesn’t go away, but only grows, and grows, and grows.

“Can’t believe you are still going to that ice cream parlor to see _Mark_,” Doyoung comments lightly when all of them are gathered in Donghyuck’s living room after school. The damn rat knows he can not run away from his own house.

“Oh my god, I’m so killing Jungwoo!” he threatens, lifting his arms up. Jungwoo hollers back a ‘_what’ _from the kitchen, where he is currently assaulting Donghyuck’s fridge.

“Doyoung, Yuta, stop teasing Donghyuck for his crush,” Taeyong says from the couch, where he is currently looking for a movie to watch, not bothering to look up from the DVD collection.

“Don’t wanna,” they retort in unison. Doyoung and Yuta high five each other.

Donghyuck greets his teeth. “I don’t have a stupid crush!” he yells, annoyed.

Taeyong finally looks up from the DVDs, sighing, but it’s only to give him_ a look._ Donghyuck doesn’t like it one bit.

“Okay, so what if I do!” he scoffs, finally giving in.

“There is nothing wrong with it, Hyuck,” Taeyong tells him, voice going all soft. Donghyuck sticks his tongue out to him.

“Yeah, honestly, it’s kinda cute,” Doyoung adds, a cheerful smile making its way on his face. “I approve it.”

“Yes. I can’t wait to message Sicheng and Taeil about this,” Yuta chimes in. “Taeil is gonna spam you with texts so hard.”

Donghyuck screeches. “I hate y’all so much.”

He decides he is gonna ask Mark out on an uneventful friday. He has nothing to do after school, and he is tired of having to go to the shop every time he wants to see Mark. So, today. Today is the day, the big day.

He gathers all his courage when he showers in the morning before school, when he is walking to class, when he is actually in class. He keeps muttering reassuring words to himself even when he is walking towards the shop. It doesn’t seem enough, because when he is just one street away, he is almost overpowered by his desire to turn around and run away.

But he doesn’t.

He takes a deep breath and walks up to the store and stands behind the door, opening it with much more force than needed. The door flies open and he enters, stomping his feet on the floor with a new found determination. It’s now or never.

Mark is already there, with Johnny, standing behind the counter. They are smiling brightly, and Donghyuck eyes travel to the person Mark is currently hugging. _Huh._ The three of them are talking loudly in English, and Donghyuck can only understand something about highschool. Mark is still half hugging the other guy from the side.

Donghyuck mouth goes dry when suddenly the guy laughs and hugs Mark back.

He considers walking out of the shop for a second, but Johnny turns slightly and their eyes meet. He smiles at him, and Donghyuck half smiles back, walking to the counter after a second of standing awkwardly in the middle of the store.

“Hi Donghyuck! The same as always?” Johnny asks, offering him a kind smile, the one that makes the corners of his eyes crinkle.

“Uh- yes!” Donghyuck replies, quickly opening his backpack to take his wallet and pay for his stupid raspberry ice cream. He avoids looking at his left at all cost, but he can still hear Mark and the other guy chattering animatedly. Johnny is back in a minute, but it feels like an eternity to Donghyuck.

“Here you go!” Johnny smiles, handing him the ice cream, as Donghyuck gives him the money.

“Thanks,” he says, grabbing the cup, cold against his sweaty palms. He smiles before turning around and sprinting out of the store.

Silly,_ silly_ Donghyuck.

The cold air of september greets him, but it doesn’t feel refreshing. Now that he is alone, his eyes water almost instantly, but he doesn’t let himself cry. He chuckles, he laughs, bitter and dry, feeling ridiculous for being this sensitive over a stupid crush. He laughs some more, until he is breathless and his cheeks are pink from the effort.

He takes a deep breath before straightening himself slowly. And pulling his backpack up, so it’s not half falling off his shoulders, he starts making his way to the back of the store. It’s empty as always, the red car parked there.

Donghyuck walks straight to the dumpster, opening the lid up with his free hand.

That’s when he feels an uncomfortable screech at his back. He lets the lid fall in a second, turning around so fast that he almost gets dizzy.

_Mark_.

Fucking Mark is looking at him like he just grew a new set of limbs.

Donghyuck chokes on his spit, coughing violently.

“Donghyu- Are you okay?” Mark asks, coming closer until he is standing in front of him, like it wasn’t embarrassing enough that he just walked into Donghyuck just about to toss his ice cream into the trash.

He coughs some more before answering. “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine.”

Mark looks at him, frowning, concern written in his eyes. It makes Donghyuck smile unconsciously.

“Really! I’m fine!”

“Okay, if you say so,” Mark says, a soft smile replacing the frown on his face. He lifts the lid of the dumpster, and drops the black plastic bag he was holding. “Johnny asked me to- umh, take the trash out, haha.”

Donghyuck curses Johnny in his head. “Oh, I see,” he comments awkwardly.

“Yeah!” Mark exclaims, bringing his two hands together. “Anyways, what were you doing… with that?”

Mark points out the ice cream Donghyuck is still holding and well... Donghyuck is doomed.

“Uh- nothing?” he responds, sounding anything but convinced.

Mark frowns again. “Were you really… gonna throw that out?”

Donghyuck goes into panic mode again. “Okay, I know it seems like_ I was_ going to do exactly that, but I totally wasn’t!” he blurts out.

“You weren’t?” Mark asks, raising an eyebrow.

Donghyuck feels his hands getting sweaty all over again. “No! I mean, I was, ummmm...”

“You were…?” Mark trails off.

Donghyuck could totally run right now. He could just go for it, run until his legs hurt and he runs out of breath, and never, never, look back. Never come back to the shop again. He has embarrassed himself enough for a lifetime.

“Donghyuck.”

Mark voice sounds firm, but gentle, so he does. Of course he does. Donghyuck looks up.

“Do you- I mean, would you like to go out with me?” Mark asks.

The ice cream slips from his hand.

“Shit! Wait, what?!”

Mark looks at the ice cream in the floor and then he looks at Donghyuck again, expectantly, his cheeks a bright red, and it should be adorable, but right now, Donghyuck's heart is beating so fast that he can not focus on anything else but the pulse on his ears.

“Is that a no? Because if I’ve reading this the wrong way then it’s going to be pretty embarrassing-”

“Oh my god, no! No, I mean, yes! God!” Donghyuck blurts out, almost screaming. “Yes, I’d like to go out with you. Very much…. Yep.”

Mark opens his mouth, his pretty lips making an ‘o’ shape. Then, he laughs, brightly. Donghyuck would be laughing too, if he wasn’t too nervous right now.

“I’d hug you, but you are kinda covered in ice cream.”

Donghyuck looks down at his shirt and shit, Mark’s right. The ice cream chips are now melted into the fabric, a big rosy stain on his white shirt. Donghyuck considers it for a second before answering.

“Hell no, I’m still getting my hug!” he exclaims, finally smiling.

Mark laughs again, opening his arms, and it’s all Donghyuck needs. He goes for it, almost crashing into Mark. It feels warm, especially with the chilly wind and the cold wetness sticking to his chest.

Donghyuck is happy. So happy, because finally, after crushing so hard on Mark for weeks, he gets to hug him and-

“Wait a minute!” he exclaims, disentangling himself from Mark. “Who were you hugging before? Back in the store?”

“What?” Mark looks at him, eyebrows furrowed. “_Oh_. That’s Jaehyun. Johnny went to school with him back in the States. He is basically like my other big brother.”

Realization comes upon Donghyuck. “Oh... Oh.”

“What? Were you jealous?” Mark asks, a smirk on his lips.

“Shut the fuck up!” Donghyuck exclaims.

“Feisty,” Mark points out. “I like that.”

“Yeah, you better!” Donghyuck warns, but he is smiling.

Mark comes closer, to hug him again, laughing. Donghyuck can’t help but laugh too, hugging him back, until Mark shirt is wet and pink too.

“We are having an intervention,” Yuta announces, cornering Donghyuck when he is making his way out of school. Yuta is perfectly aware that Donghyuck is dead tired right now, after gym class, and consequently, won’t run away. Damn his friends for knowing him too well.

“Yes,” Doyoung agrees. “A very serious one.”

Donghyuck snorts. “Okay, and why is that?” he asks, raising an eyebrow.

“Because you stopped going to the ice cream shop to stalk your crush,” Doyoung explains, shaking his head in disapproval. “And we are concerned.”

“Jungwoo told us, so don’t even try to deny it,” Yuta continues, pointing at him with an accusatory finger. It all sounds too staged and it makes Donghyuck want to laugh.

“For the record, I tried to talk them out of this,” Taeyong comments from where he is standing behind his two friends, eyebrows furrowed.

“Damn, you two are actually so dense,” Donghyuck replies.

“What? What do you mean?” Doyoung ask, but Donghyuck only shakes his head and pushes them both lightly so he can actually walk away.

Mark is standing at the gate of his school, waiting for him. Donghyuck smiles when he sees him, all handsome in his school uniform, and comes closer to hug him tightly.

“Were you waiting for too long?” he asks Mark, kissing his cheek.

Mark laughs. “No at all, but I didn’t want to interrupt you and your friends."

Donghyuck snorts before looking back at his friends. Taeyong, frankly, seems fine, not all that surprised, but Yuta and Doyoung are shocked, to say the least. He sticks his tongue out to them before taking Mark’s hands on his own.

“Let’s go?”

“Yeah.”

Mark smiles at him. The same pretty and kind smile he has seen so much over this past few weeks. It still makes him feel dizzy and excited and soft all over. Damn, he _has _feelings.

So yeah. In the end, raspberry and all, it was pretty much worth it.


End file.
